The nominations for the 15th Annual Critics Choice Movie Awards were announced this morning, and we’ve got the scoop on all the stars and movies in the running. NineandInglourious Basterdsscored the most nominations with 10 nods, followed by Avatar with nine, and The Hurt Lockerand Up in the Airwith eight a piece.

Avatar director James Cameron once again proved that bigger may just be better when it comes to film making. The uber-director is rumored to have the most expensive movie on his hands, with the Avatar budget allegedly coming in at around $300 million. But the big spending could lead to an even bigger pay-off. Critics are raving about the action-adventure love story – which Roger Ebert called “an extraordinary film” – and it’s currently got a 91% favorability rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Not bad for a movie about blue aliens, eh?

Cameron’s got some interesting competition in the Best Directing category this year, most noticeably his ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow, whose indie hit The Hurt Locker raked in eight nods. 32-year-oldJason Reitman is also nominated for writing and directing Up in the Air (send him a congrats note on Twitter), as are both its leading ladies (Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick) for Best Supporting Actress. Think either of them have a chance against Mo’Nique (Precious)?

Check out all the categories, nominees and a giant photo gallery below, and don’t forget to visit the official CCMAs site and watch the show live on VH1 on January 15, 2010!